Kinect 2.0 Detailed

Much of the excitement surrounding the new Xbox can be directly attributed to the next-gen Kinect sensor. Building off what the original Kinect started this takes NUI (natural user interaction) to the next level. From natural speech recognition to more accurate facial recognition and more detailed body motion capture. Kinect has been improved so much it's almost unfair to compare with the original incarnation. In this article let's go over what we know.

All new Camera Tech

 

The new Kinect has a 1080p video sensor compared to the VGA sensor from before. A huge improvement which allows for more accurate facial recognition with much clearer photos and video! Such clear video will surely come in handy for the all new Skype integration. They've also upped the resolution on the depth sensor allowing for more detail to be discerned such as fingers and the orientation of your limbs. All-in-all the new Xbox is processing over 2Gbs of Kinect data per second! Microsoft has also replaced the existing "structured light" method used to read depth on the original Kinect for a "Time of Flight" method that is both faster and more accurate. This method measures the time it takes individual photons to rebound off an object or person for the utmost accuracy.

Complaints Addressed

The original Kinect while a revolutionary product wasn't without it's faults which aliennated some hardcore gamers. Microsoft has taken these concerns to heart and significantly improved the new Kinect to address them.

One such complaint was lag. The time between doing an action and actually seeing it on screen. The new Kinect with dedicated processing and USB 3.0 has latency of only 2 frames per second! That's and imperceptible 66 milliseconds! Most games with a controller have an average lag of 133ms with more sensitive games (first person shooters) having a response time of 67ms! That's a huge improvement! Also your actions will be updated in real-time at 30 frames per second! The same framerate as most games!

The other major complaint for Kinect was space requirements. The field of view for the new Kinect has been improved by 60%! Meaning the new sensor can see closer, wider and deeper than it ever could before. No longer should you have to rearrange the living room to play!

Improvements

Microsoft didn't stop by just addressing the complaints. They also wanted to take the experience to the next level. The new Kinect can now track up to 6 people at once! It can also track each Xbox One controller due to the built-in infrared led. For example lift your controller and your character might raise his shield in-game. It will also switch the orientation of split screen games automatically according to player location.

Skeletal tracking has been much improved. Not only can it read more joints and the orientation of your limbs but also the force of your moves. Dashboard navigation will be significantly improved because now it can detect an open or closed hand. No longer will you have to 'hover' over an object to select it. A 'night mode' is built-in that can see players regardless of lighting conditions. And the new Kinect can tell your emotions (happy, sad, etc..) and even read your pulse!

Some other notable improvements are the microphone array. It can now more reliably cancel out background noise and players can use more natural speech to control it. No more guessing what commands the Xbox can understand. Just say what you want and the Xbox should do it!

Wrap Up

All of these improvements are nothing if Microsoft can't get the device into the hands of consumers but don't worry! The new Kinect will be bundled with every Xbox One this holiday. So we should expect ample 3rd Party support! With exclusive games already announced like Ryse from Crytek and more to come in the coming soon. Stay tuned for more Kinect announcements come E3 next week!

Read more »

Ryse Now a Next-Gen Title?

The LinkedIn profile of an ex-Crytek level designer indicates that the Kinect first person melee game, Ryse, is now a next-gen title. The resume reads,

"RYSE (X-Box Next Gen) Pushing boundaries of next generation gaming, RYSE is an original AAA IP from Crytek slated to deliver an Epic first-person melee experience in the Roman Empire."

This is interesting for a number of reasons. If correct, it's unfortunate that Kinect will be losing one of its most anticipated titles next year. But is this an indication that the peripheral will be supported at the launch of the next Xbox console? The worst case scenario is that Kinect support has been dropped altogether. Microsoft may be prioritising the line-up of their next-gen console over Kinect, which already has strong support with other developers.

"Xbox Next Gen" could of course simply refer to the Xbox 360. The designer left Crytek in July, one month after the games reveal as a Kinect title at E3. The game has suffered from a difficult production, with the project moved to Crytek's main Frankfurt studio from the now tablet focused Crytek Budapest. It's possible that the game became a next-gen project after the subsequent delay.

Hopefully we'll have more clear news on the games status soon.

Read more »

Crytek's Ryse Debut Trailer - Kinect First Person Melee Game

As we revealed a short time ago, Crytek's upcoming exclusive Xbox 360 game Codename: Kingdoms will be controlled via Kinect.

At todays Microsoft conference the debut trailer for the game, renamed 'Ryse', offered a glimpse into the first person gameplay.

Set in ancient Rome, the game allows players to "become the warrior". Armed with a sword and shield the player fights their way through countless enemies using a first person melee system.

Check out the trailer below!

Tags: GameTrailers.com, Ryse - E3 2011: Debut Trailer HD, PC Games, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

Read more »

Kinect Sports Season 2 detailed, Dance Central 2, Voice Search, Ryse and Kinect Fun Labs Unveiled

Thanks to a major leak on the Xbox website, many E3 games and announcements have been unveiled just ahead of Microsoft's conference. Kinect Sports Season 2 has been confirmed, featuring sports such as golf, tennis, baseball and Skiing. Dance Central 2 was also unveiled, as well as a cinematic Kinect game called Ryse which is almost certainly the final name for Crytek's Codename: Kingdoms.

Our speculation about Kinect Fun Labs, Kinect Me, Kinect Bobble Head et al being smaller apps has proven true. Kinect Fun Labs is a collection of Kinect "gadgets" which consists of Kinect Me, Kinect Googly Eyes, Kinect Build-A-Buddy, Kinect Sparklers and Kinect BobbleHead. Kinect Fun Labs will let you scan your face in to create a bobblehead or an avatar, as well as scan in objects and play with them on screen, or do a bit of graffiti on your photos.

Lastly, we have a mention of Xbox Live Voice search, which will hopefully allow much quicker access to Xbox Live content.

Naturally we'll have a lot more details about all of this after the conference itself, as well as much more news. Check back for all the latest, including some exclusive content and interviews directly from the show itself!

Read more »